2015 Wright Spirit Award Winners Announced

The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy has announced the five winners of this year's Wright Spirit Award, given out at the annual Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy Conference held this year in Milwaukee/Racine. Read more after the jump... From the press release: Frank Lloyd Wright’s life story is intimately entwined with his home state. To Wisconsin he left a built legacy unmatched by any other area, spanning more than seven decades. He built houses—both simple...

Frank Lloyd Wright’s life story is intimately entwined with his home state. To Wisconsin he left a built legacy unmatched by any other area, spanning more than seven decades. He built houses—both simple and elaborate—schools, religious buildings, commercial and industrial buildings, apartments, and one of only two tall buildings he ever constructed. For its 26th annual conference, the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy (FLWBC) will tour 15 of these buildings designed and built by Wright at various stages of his career, spanning 1905 to 1958, plus houses by Wright apprentices and contemporaries such as John Howe, Russell Barr Williams and John Randal McDonald.

The conference will be headquartered at The Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee, which first opened in 1893 and is a member of the Historic Hotels of America. In addition to the tours, two dozen experts will make educational presentations and speak on panels addressing such topics as Wright’s designs for low-cost housing, the preservation of Wright’s Wisconsin home and studio at Taliesin and 1915 A.D. German Warehouse in Richland Center, and his Research Tower for SC Johnson, which opened to the public for the first time ever last year and will be part of the conference tour.

“The title of this year’s conference, Wisconsin: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Laboratory, is fitting considering that both the educational presentations and the works we’ll be touring show Wright’s propensity to experiment in architecture,” says FLWBC Board President Richard Longstreth, director of the graduate program in historic preservation at George Washington University and recognized as one of the nation’s preservation experts. “His Usonian house concept and his House for a Family of $5,000-$6,000 Income were first constructed in Wisconsin. He experimented with the American System-Built Homes and the Erdman Prefabricated Homes projects. He worked out his cast concrete ornamental friezes on the Frederick Bogk House, which we’ll tour. These are just some examples of the rich and varied assortment of designs he scattered around the state.”

Among the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings that will be viewed during the conference are three models of the Arthur Richards American System-Built Homes (1915-16) and the Frederick C. Bogk House (1916) in Milwaukee; the Thomas Hardy House (1905), the Great Workroom and Research Tower of the SC Johnson Headquarters (1936-43) in Racine; the Bernard Schwartz House (1939) in Two Rivers; the Herbert F. Johnson House, Wingspread (1937) in Wind Point; the Albert Adelman House (1948) in Fox Point; and the Dr. Maurice and Margaret Greenberg House (1954) in Dousman.

One of the highlights of the annual conference is the presentation of the Wright Spirit Awards at the Saturday night gala dinner. (The gala is included in the general conference registration fee, but individual tickets may also be purchased by those wishing to attend only the gala.) Introduced in 1991, the Wright Spirit Award recognizes efforts of extraordinary individuals and organizations that have preserved the legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright through their tireless dedication and persistent efforts. This year’s honorees include:

• Eugene Szymczak, owner of the Thomas Hardy House in Racine, for his thorough restoration of the house

• The SC Johnson Company, for its stalwart stewardship of its signature Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings, restoration and opening to the public of its Research Tower, and continued commitment to creating important architectural works

• Joseph M. Siry, William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of the Humanities at Wesleyan University, for his 30-plus years of lecturing and publishing on Wright’s work

• Mary and Glenn Schnadt of Richland Center, for their role in saving Wright’s A.D. German Warehouse and donating it back to the community for restoration

• Robert and Bonnie McCoy of Mason City, Iowa, for their leadership in the effort to save and fully restore Wright’s Stockman House, City National Bank and Park Inn Hotel, and other works by important architectural figures.

General conference registration starts at $595 for members of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy. The deadline for general registration is Monday, August 28, but events may sell out before this period. Special events are purchased separately and are subject to space limitations. Coach bus transportation is provided for all conference events. All programs are subject to change.

About the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy

The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, an international preservation organization, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Chicago. Founded in 1989, its mission is to facilitate the preservation and maintenance of the remaining structures designed by Frank Lloyd Wright through education, advocacy and technical services. The staff and a corps of dedicated and knowledgeable board members and volunteers accomplish the Conservancy’s mission through strategic initiatives that include: advocating publicly and privately against demolition and neglect of Wright structures; providing access to expert technical conservation and restoration resources; reaching an international audience for sellers of Wright properties and helping owners find preservation-minded buyers; introducing new audiences to Wright’s work and deepening the understanding of this architecture’s importance in American and international culture through SaveWright, a biannual magazine; and recognizing and honoring individuals and organizations that demonstrate extraordinary efforts in stewardship of Wright buildings or furtherance of the Wright legacy through the Conservancy’s Wright Spirit Awards.